Two years ago, Djaïli Amadou Amal was unknown to the general French public.
Today and since she won the Goncourt prize for high school students (2020), the author of Les
Impatientes
, a first novel dealing with forced marriage, marital rape and polygamy, is no longer to be known.
The third edition of the Publishing Trophies confirms her rise by awarding her the title of author of the year 2021. A reward that she should have received last year, but which, with the health crisis, has not could be awarded to him.
To discover
Discover the “Best of the Goncourt Prize” collection
” READ ALSO – Djaïli Amadou Amal wins the Goncourt high school students with Les Impatientes
“I am really very moved and very grateful,
confided the Cameroonian to Figaro
.
First, because it focuses on a subject that affects me personally.
I myself was the victim of a forced marriage and marital rape.
I was silent for a long time, it destroyed me for years, but writing this book helped me enormously
.
I hope that after reading my novel, other women who are themselves victims of violence will realize that they are not alone.
This award is a real message of hope.”
“The Cameroonian government has decided to put my novel on the curriculum for Terminale classes”
A message of hope that she also sends today to Ukrainian women who are victims of abuses by the Russian army.
“Whenever there are conflicts, the first victims are women and children.
In the Sahel, we talk a lot about terrorists, but the victims are often little mentioned.
Yet they are the ones who are used as sex slaves and suicide bombers.
We must talk about violence against women, it happens all over the world.
Thus, to the question
“What have these awards changed in your life as an author?”
that we pose to her, Djaïli Amadou Amal wishes first of all to recall her feminist commitment.
“It gives me a voice.
I founded the Femmes du Sahel association and am an ambassador for Unicef.
Thanks to these awards, it allows me to highlight the issue of forced marriages.”
And to add:
“It has raised awareness in Cameroon.
The government has decided to put my novel on the curriculum for Terminale classes.
The subject of violence against women is learned at school.
I hope that the high school students will come out of it changed.
Finally, and obviously, on a literary level, it gives me more legitimacy and therefore self-confidence.
It's important for a writer to be reassured!
These awards are the culmination of a long process.”
The present, a time that does not exist
A
“long work”
carried by an author but also by an editor: Emmanuelle Collas.
Let us recall for the record that
Les Impatientes
had already been crowned under another name,
Munyal, tears of patience
, by the Orange Book Prize in Africa in 2019 and that it was subsequently reworked and then published under another title -
Les Impatientes
, So- by Emmanuelle Collas.
“Since this first novel, we have learned to know each other,
explains Djaïli Amadou Amal.
We discussed my culture and
the way I speak French and the richness of the Francophonie
.
Emmanuelle Collas understood that I could never write in the present, quite simply because this time does not exist in Fulani, my mother tongue.
Still moved by the announcement of this prize, Djaïli Amadou Amal already explains that he is
"looking forward to starting the adventure again with Coeur du Sahel (his second novel, editor's note), to meet people and find booksellers"
.
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The Publishing Trophies organized by Livres Hebdo reward publishing professionals who, through their excellence, their audacity and their creativity, contribute to the sustainability and influence of editorial creation.
This year, 16 trophies were awarded, including the prize for the publisher of the year 2021, awarded to Cécile Terouanne (Hachette Livre) and the prize for the small publishing house of the year 2021: Les Editions Philippe Rey .
A house no longer so small (!), while Mohamed Mbougar Sarr won the Goncourt 2021 prize and the Hennessy book prize with the novel
The most secret memory of men
and Joyce Maynard was the winner of the Grand Prix for American literature with
Where the happy people lived
.
The nominees for editor of the year were: Cécile Terouanne (Hachette), Christel Hoolans (Dargaud), Mireille Paolini, Glenn Tavennec, Karina Hocine.
For the small publishing house of the year: Emmanuelle Collas, Editions Contre-Dires, La Goutte d'Or, La Pastèque (Canada), Philippe Rey.
For the author of the year: Djaili Amadou Amal, Thierry Courtin, Philippe de Villiers, Virginie Grimaldi, Camille Kouchner, Orianne Lallemand, Diane Le Feyer/ Mr Tan, Hervé Le Tellier, Hugo Lindenberg and Riad Sattouf.
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